Prosecuted at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on 20 May, the screen, rotary and digital printer was ordered to pay £62,000 to the courts and £11,270 to Thames Water for legal costs.
Thames Water, which brought the case against Ivo Textiles, first approached Ivo Textiles in 2022 after samples showed the firm had been committing sewer abuse.
After meeting with the water company, Ivo Textiles continued to exceed the levels of waste permitted under its discharge consent agreement.
Tests found Ivo Textiles had been putting heavy metals, ammonia, and fabric down its drains.
When approached by Printweek, Ivo Textiles’ board of directors shared the following statement: “In March 2024, Ivo Textiles pleaded guilty to breaches of its consent limits in relation to waste water discharges into the public sewer.
“Whilst no harm was caused by these breaches, the company recognises its responsibilities to the environment and is in the process of installing a £250,000 wastewater treatment plant to ensure our wastewater is cleaned.
“As part of the same installation, we also aim to reduce our water usage by recycling some of the water for use as part of our production process.”
Thames Water has been subject to sharp criticism in recent years for repeated discharges from its sewers directly into rivers and waterways. In 2021, water companies discharged raw sewage into rivers 372,533 times over 2.75m hours.
David Bourne, Thames Water’s trade effluent manager, said: “Sewer abuse is part of the everyday challenge we face to keep the sewers flowing to remove and treat customers’ wastewater.
“In the year 2023/24, 81% of blockages across our network were caused by items in the sewer which should have never been there in the first place. Controlling wastewater from industrial premises is critical to ensure we deliver life’s essential service and return clean water to our rivers.”
Thames Water removes 75,000 blockages from sewers annually, at a cost of £18m per year – in 2023/24, 81% of these blockages were caused by unflushable items.
“Our work to find and stop these offences helps us to maintain our sewer network and protect the environment. We will always look to work with individuals and companies to educate them on the effects sewer abuse has, but we will take legal action as a last resort where the risk is too high.”
